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It is recomended that you read this notes having the software open to test.
Newton Package Manager This software is one of the most important applications in this Newton Connection Tools release. It holds a database from packages, allowing you to search for the desired package data, and installing it. By default, it comes with UNNA database preloaded. Search of packages is done as you type in the search box. The search operation is done only inside the current source, like iTunes does. Sources are organized with one global source "Library", where all packages are present, six red sources that present the six newton entry possible types. Although some packages include many entry, most has only one, and the database records only the first entry type. Finnaly, in green are the user created sources. You can add as many sources as you like to sort your packages, change sources name or delete the sources. All the packages from a deleted source stay in the "Library", but in no other. Adding packages to database By many ways you can add packages to the database. One way is by searching for packages. You can go to menu Package and select Search... option, and a window will appear asking for the starting search folder. An interesting thing here is that this tool is able to for packages even inside zip files. It will only search for files with the pkg extension, and test if it can extract the information needed for the database. This information is taked the same way the Newton Package Header works. It can also search for readme files. This operation look for text files in the same folder the package resides and selects the file where package name apears more times and none if it apears no one time in any file. New packages find by this way will be put on the source "Library", but if the package already exists in the database, its source will not be changed. Screenshots from this search operation are here and here. Another way is by draging one or many packages and droping them in the Package Manager. You can also drop folders. Files will be analized and added to the active source. Here, the package is always set to the active source. Here, seach always includes zip and readme files. Finally, you can import packages data. This is the easiest way when you want to add remote packages that resides on a server in Internet. When you receive a newton package data file, you include it to your database by toolbar operation "Import Package Data". Package data If you select any package and click on "Edit Data" toolbar option, you will see the package information stored in the database. The first slope shows general package information. Some data cannot be taked by the software, like the author and web page, you have to fill it by yourself. In the lower side you see package versions. The software understands there may be many releases from the same package; it groups packages with exactly the same name as the same package with diferent versions. Simon Bell packages, like "mail:simple", are examples of packages with many versions. In the main window it is allways show the last (time ordered) version information. Slope "Locations" shows where the selected pakage version resides. You can change locations. You will see that remote locations in a HTTP server, will start with "http://" and the exact location in the server. Remote locations in FTP servers will start with "ftp://" and the exact remote server location. Local machine locations are complete path and filename strings. The last slope, "Comments", allows you to include some package comments. Here resides the readme file content when packages are searched. The search operation, when it includes the search inside comments, will search in the information that resides here. Install packages The installation of new packages is as easy as selecting all the packages you want to install and clicking on the "Install Package" toolbar option. A window will appear allowing to select the desired version to install and location from witch to install it. You can start the installation from as many packages as you want. Remote packages will be downloaded from the Internet first and wait until the connection tool is idle and start the installation process. A sample screenshot from this can be seen here and here. Export package data Once you have build your database, you can export it. Export of Newton package data allows you to save a copy of an already build database, but also developers and webmaster of pages with Newton packages can build its own list to distribute its packages information. Its easy, because every package list is an XML file. You can scan the structure of your web site, export the list and using any plain text editor like WordPad, you can use the feature Replace usualy found in the Edit menu. Please, note that XML files are case sensitive, so don't change tag leters. Newton package data implements a location identifier and the location itself in the identified location. Repository types are hard disk (0), http server (1) and ftp server (2). The location must appear without the preceding server type identification. For example, DataRescue:AMY location is: <locations> <singleloc> <reptype>1</reptype> <location>www.unna.org/utilites/DataRescue/DataRescue.pkg</location> </singleloc> </locations>Package Manager Configuration Package manager configuration allows you to select the folder where remote packages will be downloaded. Also you have to select if you want that downloaded packages have to be added to the database. The other option is if search operations should include package comments. Slower computers may want to disable this option, in order to acelerate search operations. On the slope "Columns" you can select which columns to show, and the last slope "Internet Proxy" allows you to enable the proxy and indicate the proxy type. Outlook Synchronization Synchronization can be of contacts, callendar and notes. The synchronization of these applications can be of one of these types:
The export requieres that information can be traslated from one side to the other. Some restrictions here are the export of ink data, and some callendar characteristics not avaible on both systems. For example, you can not create a Newton meeting repeating every three weeks, or an Outlook meeting that repeats every first and fourth week in a month. Usualy, this kind of situations can be handled by creating more than one meeting. Also, something not synchronized here are Newton callendar notes on repeat meetings. Same problems arise when we are working with Names data. In Newton exists three categories: Person, Company and Group. Synchronization try to identify this kind of situations in Outlook contacts. Not every Outlook data is avaible in Newton and vice versa. And problems are worse with notes synchronization, because Outlook only support plain text notes. The recomendation here is to have Newton as master. All Newton and Outlook rich text data is trasladed using the RTF to Newton conversot. Last but not least, Newton Simple Mail outbox mail may be automatically put in Outlook outbox on synchronization. Newton outbox mails will be deleted after move. ToDo data is not synchronized. This application works using the current Newton backup. A screenshot of the configuration options can be seen here. RTF Import/Export This operation simply takes an RTF file and creates the Newton Notes item. It takes care on the font face, size and style used on the original text. This release do not implement shapes conversion, nor does it implement ink conversion. Future releases may be able to handle shapes conversion. Ink conversion seems to be more difficult up to now. This application works using the current Newton backup. Newton Outlook Mail This software allows you to copy mails between Outlook and Newton. Newton requieres to have Simon Bell's mail:simple package installed. Mail import/export only supports that package. The operation is very simple: you have Newton locations (inbox and outbox) in the upside, and Outlook locations in the lower side (inbox, outbox, sendbox and deleted folders tree). To copy a Newton mail to Outlook, you have to select the mail you want to copy and drop it in the folder where you would like to copy it. Operation takes place in the moment. But when you copy an Outlook mail to Newton, it does not take place in the moment. This operation is the oposite from the other one: you have to drag an Outlook mail and drop it in the desired Newton box. The mail is created in the corresponding mailbox and will be presented in green, while application title shows the number of pending operations. By pressing "GO" button, mail import takes place. Green mails, wainting for newton import can be deleted by pressing the "del" key with that mail selected. This application works using the current Newton backup. Screenshots can be seen here and here. |